I've been a member on here for a few weeks and introduced myself, but my tank has been going through a bad time with an infestation of Dinoflagellates. After a 10-day blackout I hope I've beaten them, and as I'm ramping the lights up again gradually the corals and fish are waking up again. I've also got some new additions planned over the next few weeks. So I thought it might be a good time to start a tank log and post some photos.

Firstly, a few photos taken today under blues (the ramp-up of the lights hasn't got as far as whites yet). A full tank shot, then some of the individual corals which were taken with a blue filter on the camera to make the colours more similar to what the naked eye sees.

Thanks :)

Here's a brief summary of equipment at present:

Tank: 120L Juwel Lido

Filtration: Fluval 105 filter with sponge, Alfagrog, floss, rowaphos, rowacarbon.

Skimmer: Tunze 9004 in-tank.

Powerheads: two small Fluval powerheads in the top corners, one on continuously and and the other on/off in 15 minute cycles.

Hardscape: I large piece of Aquaroche, 1 large piece of Real Reef Rock, plus a few bits of solid live rock rubble and some Alfagrog bits which had been 'quarantined' in my 10L tank for a few weeks before going in.

Lighting: 3 Aquatlantis LED units with programmable controller.

Heater: Eheim Jager 200W.

Doser (not yet set up, will do soon when I get some more hose): Kamoer 4-channel.



 The tank's been set up about 3 months, 2 months of which was spent doing a fishless cycle with ammonia and ATM Colony.



Livestock is presently as follows:

2 tank-bred ocellaris clowns
1 red-legged hermit crab
1 blackfoot trochus snail (only surviving snail from the Dino outbreak - my other trochus, turbo and nassarius were poisoned)
1 'Captain America' mushroom
1 Ricordea florida mushroom
1 Protopalythoa mutuki frag
7 Zoa frags (don't know the names of all of these)
1 bit of Pavona that I got with the 'Lunar Eclipse' zoas on, and seems half-dead.


Forthcoming planned additions include:
more CUC
more Ricordeas
some Montipora frags
another Pavona that isn't half-dead when I get it.
a goby/pistol shrimp pair or trio


Finally, I am eyeing up a small Maxspect gyre.

Looks spot on that you are defo enjoying it.

For the long runs on mine I used airline tubing from container to doser and have the thin white stuff from doser to sump.

You could possibly use airline on the exit as well it may be worth a try :)

It does get VERY addictive haha

Well Frank seems to have passed, and this morning was bright and sunny in Manchester. So I decided to go for a walk to Cockfields. It's a bu99er to get to by public transport, so I set off on the train and then walk the 3 miles from Stalybridge (and 3 miles back). I got all that done before the rain started :)

Of course, after all that effort I could hardly leave without buying something, could I? After drooling over lots of very expensive corals that wouldn't have fitted in my little poly box, I spent a total of £30 on two good-size frags.

So here are the newest additions to the frag rack, about 15 minutes after going into the tank. I'll move them into a proper place in due course:

I believe they are Seriatopora calendrium and Montipora hirsuta.
I'd better get that doser plumbing finished soon :)

Here's an updated full tank shot. Got some new corals and some more snails today, and had a minor rearrangement.

Although there's a long way to get, I'm quite pleased with how this is coming together and the 'diagonal ridge' plan looks better now there are corals on it.

I've also bought (but haven't yet got) a better frag rack, which is magnetic and ceramic, shaped like a natural rocky shelf. I'm going to put it on the back of the tank and put a plating Monti on it.

That picture looks awesome bet you well chuffed with how that looks

They are challenging you only at the beginning so much easier to sort issues you try issues in a system my size and all the SPS then you got a real headache.

You will understand why I get stressed sometimes you do your very best to do it all right yet you still get kicked right between the legs in the beanbag.

However once all the teething issues are sorted and you have encounter most it's easy to spot and deal with strait away instead of thinking WTF that.

 I remember on one forum a chap had not long started a marine tank and had been happily spot feeding the aptasia as he thought they was a coral the aptasia was living the dream and spreading well until he was informed they are a pest.

We all have to start somewhere but with marine things can happen fast as you have now seen with them hydroids and Mr Snail I should imagine has helped spread them about like that.

It may be worth looking into all the possible hitchikers ect like bryopsis, hydroids to name a few at least once you have read about them even if you don't have any you are prepared that's how I knew what they was in your other post and trust me with marine it pays to be very prepared and move fast with issues.